Candle-socket.



No. 828,238. PATENTED AUG. '7, 1906. H. F. NEHR.

CANDLE SOCKET.

APPLICATION FILED 13110.5.1901.

INVENTOR kumffieh,

ATTOR%YJ UNITED STATE PATENT OFFIOE- HERMAN F. NEHR. OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO BENZINGER BROS, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A FIRM.

CANDLE-SOCKET.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. '7, 1906.

Application filed December 5, 1901. Serial No. 84;,739.

To all whom, it nwty concern:

Be it known that I, HERMAN F. NEHR, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Candle- Sockets, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to candle-sockets; and it has for an object to provide a candlesocket from which the stub of the candle will be automatically discharged when the candle has burned down to a predetermined point, thereby leaving the candle-socket free for theinsertion of a new candle.

My invention also has for an object to provide means for automatically snufling the candle in caseit should be so fixed in the socket by the drippings as not to be ejected when it has been burned down to the predetermined point. 1

These and other objects of my invention will more fully appear from the following description.

My invention consists in the novel parts, improvements, and combinations herein shown and described.

The accompanying drawings, which are referred to herein and form a part hereof, illustrate one embodiment of my invention and serve, in connection with the description herein, to explain the principles thereof and the best mode in which I have contemplated applying those principles.

While my invention is shown in the drawings as applied to a candlestick having a single socket, it is obvious that it may be applied to candlesticks, chandeliers, or candelabra having a number of candle-sockets.

Of the drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical central section, partly in elevation, of a candle stick and socket constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same. Fig. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a modification of one feature of the device.

In carrying my invention into effect I provide an upper support adapted to engage the sides of the candle and a lower support adapted to sustain the weight of the candle, the lower support being separated from the upper support by an open space and constructed to permit the candle-stub to fall when it burns below the upper support.

In accordance with the preferred construction the candle is loosely engaged by both supports, so that when the socket is empty a new candle may be inserted without any hand manipulation of either support, and the portion of the lower support which comes into contact with the candle is preferably of such small area as to be incapable of supporting the candle in upright position without the aid of the upper support. Means are also preferably provided for forcibly ejecting the stub of the candle when burned below the upper support, said ejecting means n the best form being provided with a device for snuffing the candle in case the ejector should fail to dislodge the same. I

Referring to the drawings in detail 1 ind cates a tray of an ordinary candlestick, th1s tray preferably being adapted to contaln' a sufficient body of water to extlngulsh the candle when it falls out of the socket. The socket proper consists of a yoke 2, which constitutes the upper support, and a pointed device 3, which constitutes the lower support. As shown, the yoke 2 is open at one slde and is adapted to loosely embrace the sides of the candle. Obviously, however, this yoke may be made circumferentially continuous, and it may be made to clasp the sides of the candle, if desired, so as to hold the same more firmly in position in the socket. The lower support 3 is preferably arranged concentrlcally with the opening in the upper support; but it may obviously be otherwise located, if desired. By making the lower support pointed, as shown, it will penetrate the lower end of the candle in such a way as to prevent lateral displacement of the lower end'of the candle, and thereby more firmly hold the same in the socket. For convenience of construction the yoke 2 is formed in one end of a piece of suitable metal which is provided with a vertical portion 4 and a lower horizontal portion 5, which is provided wlth a perforation and is clamped between a head 6, formed on the pointed device 3, and a supportingblock7, into which the device 3 is screwed. The block 7 is secured to the tray 1 at its central portion and may be provided with an arm 8 to carry a vertical post 9.

On the post 9 is fitted a sleeve 10, wh ch 1s provided, preferably at its lower end, with a set-screw 11, by which the sleeve may be adjustably secured on the post. Loosely pivoted onthe upper end of the sleeve 10 is a plate 12, which forms the ejecting device, said plate being adapted to engage the side of the candle below the support 2 and force the same off the support 3 when the candle has burned below the upper support 2, the necessary power being secured by a spring 13, which 1s secured at one end to the sleeve 10' and at the other end to the hub of the ejector 12.

In order that the ejector may act to snuff the candle in case the latter should be so firmly fixed in position by the drippings that the, ejector should fail to break it loose, the plate 12 is preferably provided at its outer edge with a depending flange 14, which when the candle burns below the level of the plate 12 is adapted to engage the side of the candle and hold the plate 12 over the top of the same, so as to extinguish or snufi the flame.

. When the ejector is used, the lower support may obviously be enlarged, so as to engage the entire lower end or even the lower edge of the candle. Obviously the ejector 12 may be used for the purpose of snuffing the candle only. To this end the post 9 may be extended above the socket as far as may be desired, and the sleeve 10, together with the plate 12, may be located at'any desired position above the candle-socket, as indicated in dotted lines, so as to snuff the candle when it has burned down to a predetermined point.

Instead of supporting the ejector and snufier upon the post 9 it may obviously be secured in place by a support independent of the socket. As shown in Fig. 3, a support 15, corresponding to the sleeve 10, may be provided at its lower end with a suitable clamping device. In accordance with the construction shown this clamping device consists of a pair of spring-arms 16 and 17, which are pivoted on the support 15 and are extended on the opposite side thereof to form the handles 18 and 19, between which an expansion-spring 20 is confined. By means of this securing means the device may either be secured in position to eject the stub of the candle, as by causing the clamp to engage the block 7, or the device may be used solely as a snuffer by clamping the same at any desired point on the candle.

The operation of the device having been fully described in connection with the construction thereof, a further description of the operation will not be necessary.

My invention in its broader aspects is not limited to the precise construction shown nor to the precise construction by which it'may be carried into effect, as many changes may be made in such construction without dep arting from the main principles of my invention and without sacrificingits chief advantages.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A candle-socket consisting of an upper support and a lower support upon which the candle rests, the said lower support being separated from the upper support by an open space and constructed to sustain the candlestub only while it is maintained in an upright position by the upper support, whereby the socket is free to receive a new candle as soon as the old one burns below the upper support.

2. A candle-socket consisting of an upper support having small vertical dimensions as compared with the diameter of the candle, and a lower support upon which the candle rests, said lower support being separated from the upper support by an open space and constructed to sustain the candle-stub only while it is maintained in an upright position by the upper support whereby the socket does not become heated and is in condition to receive a new candle as soon as the old one burns below the upper support,

3. A candle-socket consisting of an upper. support constructed to loosely embrace the candle, and a lower support upon which the candle rests, said lower support being separated from the upper support by an open space and constructed to sustain the candle-stub only while it is maintained in an upright position by the upper support whereby a new candle may be inserted in the socket without manipulating the latter as soon as the old candle burns below the upper support.

4. A candle-socket consisting of an upper support and a lower support separated from the upper support by an open space and having a supporting-surface consisting solely of a single point on which the candle-stub will be sustained only while it is maintained in an upright position by the upper support, whereby the socket is free to receive a new candle as soon as the old one burns below the upper support.

5. A candle-socket consisting of an upper support, a lower support, and means for ejecting the candle when it burns below the upper support.

6. A candle-socket consisting of an upper support, a lower support, and means for ej ecting the candle when it burns below the upper support, said ejector being constructed to snufi the candle if it is not ejected.

7. A candle-socket consisting of an upper support, a lower support, a combined snuifer and ejector, and an adjustable support for the same whereby the said snuifer and ejector may be set to snuff the candle before it burns down to the u per support or to eject or snufi the candle when it burns below the upper support.

8. A candle-snuffer comprising a support, means for securing the support at different positions with relation to the candle, a plate connected to said support by a vertical pivot, and a spring connection between said sup- IIO port and said plate, said plate being arranged I name to this specification in the presence of in a plane at subsfantially right angles to tldie i two subscribing Witnesses. axis of the can e and havin at one si e only a depending flange adapt ed to engage g HERMAN NEHR' 5 the side of the candle and limit the movement Witnesses:

of the plate thereover. i JOHN T. FINN,

In testimony whereof I have signed my JOHN J. BYRNE. 

